CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns coach Pat Shurmur has been second-guessed about game-management decisions in many a news conference. It's one of the occupational hazards facing every NFL coach no matter the record.

But in his meeting with the press following the Browns' 30-7 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday the first person to second guess Shurmur was, well, Shurmur.

In his opening remarks the coach said he made a mistake by removing halfback Montario Hardesty as the Browns were about to score their final touchdown. The reserve back ran the ball five times on the fourth-quarter drive for 35 yards before fumbling at the goal line. While Hardesty recovered the ball, the Browns inserted starter Trent Richardson who scored on a 1-yard run.

Hardesty was visibly upset with Shurmur's decision. The coach put his arm around the running back and later talked to him again on the sidelines. Hardesty had fumbled twice in preseason and the coaching staff appeared hesitant to play him for weeks.

"I am so upset with myself though for not giving Hardesty that opportunity to score there," Shurmur said in his opening remarks. "I'm [mad] at myself for doing that. There was nothing to it, it just happened. Montario, as you could see, earned the right to carry the football, which he did.

"He did a good job for us. I trust him in every situation. The people that write about him and follow him ought to be proud of his efforts this year. He's done an outstanding job. I just wanted to get that out there."

Shurmur's wasn't finished. He walked into the locker room and interrupted Hardesty's chat with several reporters to say he didn't think the halfback lost possession on the play – "he extended the ball to score, that's not a fumble" – before adding, "this guy has done great."

Hardesty finished as the team's leading rusher with 52 yards on 10 carries. He also dropped a pass. Richardson scored two touchdowns, but managed just 42 yards on 18 attempts.

In the past three weeks, the Browns have given Hardesty more carries and he's proven to be an effective change-of-pace runner. He certainly has demonstrated a quicker burst than Richardson, who continues to play through a rib injury.

Hardesty had a 25-yard run late in the third quarter to help set up the final touchdown. The halfback was asked what he told Shurmur as he came to the sidelines after being replaced on the goal line.

" 'I'm ready to go, coach, let me stay in and get the ball into the end zone,' " Hardesty said. "It's all good. I just want to get a touchdown for this team, that's all."

T-rich ties mark: Richardson scored two touchdowns, giving him nine for the season and tying the franchise rookie mark of Jim Brown set in 1957.

"Something like that is an honor," Richardson said. "Jim Brown is an icon, always will be. He's one of those guys you want to follow in his footsteps any which way you (can)."

Historic kick:Phil Dawson admitted he was nervous about converting his 300th field goal on Sunday. He hit the milestone with a 23-yarder in the first quarter before adding two others of 24 and 34 yards.

"(I've) worked a long time to have a chance to get there and to be right on the doorstep sometimes is worse than being 50 away," Dawson said in explaining the butterflies.

New team, old nemesis: A season ago, defensive tackle Shaun Smith enraged the Browns for a cheap shot on center Alex Mack while playing for the Tennessee Titans. On Sunday, he landed hard on Richardson and was in no hurry to get off him.

The running back declined to say if Smith was attempting to injure him, but fullback Alex Smith yanked the beefy tackle off Richardson and barked at the agitating defender.

"That was nothing," Smith said. "Just me doing what I normally do -- talk trash. Some people can't handle it.

What happened in the pile?

"I don't really remember," Smith said. "I just know he got up mad. When you have a 345-pound guy laying on you, everybody's going to be mad."

Return of Hillis: A simple, handmade sign was hanging in one end zone of Cleveland Browns Stadium hours before kickoff: "#40 Paycheck Hilli$," it read.

Peyton Hillis saw it, and most of all, he heard the hearty boos that followed him each of the five times he touched the ball while rushing for 11 yards for the Chiefs on Sunday.

"I was prepared for it," Hillis said. "I didn't know how bad it would be."

All of it was in response to the running back that Browns fans once supported so thoroughly that they voted him to appear on the cover of Madden NFL 12.

But after a contract dispute and a "toxic" 2011 season, a week that included a back-and-forth with Cleveland left tackle Joe Thomas in which Hillis likened Thomas to a "crazy ex-girlfriend," and the boos came unchecked Sunday.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Hillis said. "I respect the fans. They would do this for anybody who left. They're a good team and they're getting better. They have something to look forward to."

Key play: One of the most critical pass break-ups of the day belonged to Browns tight end Ben Watson. Early in the third quarter, Chiefs safety Eric Berry stepped in front of a Brandon Weeden pass and appeared to intercept the ball. But Watson kept fighting and jarred it loose from Berry's grasp. Four plays later, Richardson scored on a 1-yard touchdown.

"Sometimes, we have to play defense, too," Watson said. "That's why it's a team sport. We help each other out."

Numbers game: Travis Benjamin's 93-yard punt return eclipsed the old franchise mark of 92 yards set by Eric Metcalf in 1994. . . . The Browns scored 30 consecutive points in a game for the first time since 1991 when the team topped Indianapolis, 31-0, on Dec. 1. . . . The Browns are 4-1 in their past five home games.

Weeden's record: Weeden's fifth victory made him the winningest rookie quarterback in Browns history. Will he finally join the discussion with No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck and No. 2 overall choice Robert Griffin III, whom he'll face next week?

"Yeah, I mean I've wanted that for the last three years," he said. "I've just been the guy in the background and just kind of gone about my business. I've played Robert twice, Andrew (Luck) once and they're great players. The years they're having are out of this world. They're great players, great people, but it'll be fun to square off against them.

"We've already played Andrew, came up a little short and it'll be fun to play Robert's team as well. He's a great player doing good things for that offense and they tailor what they do pretty well to him. But like I said, if we keep winning games, it'll take care of itself. For me, that's really all I can really worry about."

Griffin suffered a sprained knee in their overtime victory over the Ravens today, but an MRI showed no structural damage. His status for Sunday's game is uncertain.

On little: Weeden said he razzed Greg Little after he was tackled at the 1 following his 17-yard run. Little lined up in the slot, motioned in to the backfield and took a pitch from Weeden.

"I like how that one was schemed up," said Weeden. "We ran the empty set. I'm under center which doesn't happen very often, and they really didn't know how to line up to it. I told Greg probably 10 times I'm disappointed he didn't get into the end zone. I was joking with him, but I think he wanted to get in the end zone."

Shurmur entered Little into the "tackled at the one club" that included Josh Cribbs. Rookie receiver Josh Gordon, who caught a career-high eight passes for 86 yards, was tackled once at the 2 after an 18-yard catch.

Extra points: Kansas City quarterback Ricky Stanzi, a Lake Catholic product, was not active for the game. . . . The Browns honored Kirtland football coach Tiger LaVerde as their coach of the year. The team went 10-0 in the regular season

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